When it comes to Thanksgiving dessert time, dishes made with pumpkin and apples tend to get all the love.
This makes sense, of course, because both fruits are in season come November, and are inexpensive and standard fare on produce shelves at even the tiniest grocery store. Plus, their preparation is such that even novice cooks find it easy to bake them into pies, cheesecakes and crumbles.
Yet apples and pumpkins aren't the only seasonal fruit worth exploring during the holiday season. Fresh cranberries are just as plentiful and equally fabulous in fall and winter desserts. And with their jewel-like ruby hue, they're exceptionally pretty.
This year, why not look beyond the jellied sauce you serve with turkey and turn that extra bag of fresh cranberries into a sweet treat that's worth lingering over with your after-dinner coffee?
Grown in sandy, acidic soil such as New Jersey's Pine Barrens region, cranberries are naturally tart. So tart, you can't really eat them out of hand like other berries without a pucker. Add a spoonful or two of sugar (or maybe a cup, depending on the recipe) and the fruit isn't just palatable _ it's delicious, like a grown-up, real food version of SweeTarts candy.
One of my favorite ways to serve cranberries is in a slump, or New England's version of the French clafoutis. The one-pot dish consists of fruit baked on the stovetop, and then topped with pillowy dumplings that melt into one another as they're first baked and then steamed to a bubbling finish.
I'm also pretty keen on cranberry desserts that involve some sort of buttery crumble on top, and think cranberries cooked in orange juice and sugar make the perfect topping for a creamy cheesecake.
If you really want to go all out and wow your guests, Alice Water's Cranberry Upside Down Cake is a total showstopper. It marries a light and buttery white cake with a layer of caramelized cranberries. If you ever needed an excuse to pull Grandma's antique cake stand out of the china closet, this cake is it. It's gorgeous, and decadent in a way Thanksgiving desserts call for.
